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Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

Rocky Fielding hopes to emulate the performance of Tyson Fury when he faces Canelo Alvarez in New York on December 15.

Livepool fighter Fielding puts his WBA regular super middleweight world championship title on the line at Madison Square Garden against an opponent who defeated Gennady Golovkin in their second contest following a split decision the first time they met.

Alvarez, who failed a doping test for clenbuterol in March and was banned for six months, is stepping up in weight for the contest.

Fielding is aware of the drama surrounding Fury's drawn heavyweight title bout with Deontay Wilder in Los Angeles and the 31-year-old hopes his performance creates just as much interest in the UK.

Fielding said: "That was a big, big fight for Tyson Fury.

"It's been massive in the UK and around the world in the past couple of days and everyone has been behind him.

"That's good inspiration and I've got good support coming over and hopefully I will give it everything on the night. I appreciate everyone giving me the support."

Fielding compared his career to that of 30-year-old Fury as they both came through the amateur ranks.

Fielding said: "Me and Tyson we were both in the ABA Finals together, we both went to Germany and won a world title.

"He's been to America to fight for a world title and I'm going there to defend it."

Canelo Alvarez and Rocky Fielding fight for the middleweight title on December 15 (Getty)

Fielding knows the spotlight will be on him when he faces Alvarez but will draw on his experiences after beginning his career in much humbler surroundings.

He said: "I started in my pro debut in a leisure centre in front of a couple of hundred people and I just worked hard for the last eight or nine years of my professional career. I've had a lot of setbacks outside the ring.

"To be coming to Madison Square Garden is unbelievable. I'm going there prepared and I'm going there to win."

Re: Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

This is a strange fight. I just realized the other day that it’s in two weeks. The problem with this fight is that there are so many options at MW and he decided to go up in weight and take an easier fight instead.

Re: Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

Not interested at all, but at least he is staying active. GGG is a 3 fights a year kind of guy, so just maybe he is accepting that it is a final couple of pay days now. 37 next year. This is the point where smart fighters contemplate getting out.

Re: Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

Rocky Fielding's lanky frame folds uncomfortably as he sits in his parked car examining the gritty neighborhood that nurtured him. Stockbridge Village, known colloquially as “Canny Farm,” lingers on the outskirts of Liverpool and was once frighteningly emblematic of the housing crisis that gripped Britain in the aftermath of World War II.

Assembled using the most basic of materials and completed in the early 1960s, the feeble surroundings caused misery and strife, but simultaneously instilled a community toughness that would be required over the coming decades. The Farm had character and resilience in abundance, but missing from its makeup were finance, employment and opportunity. Northern Britain was experiencing poverty of Dickensian proportions, and Liverpool was at the very heart of the monetary curse in the late 1980s, right about the time Michael Fielding — "Rocky" would come later — entered the world.

“It was bad from what I remember,” states Fielding, a wry smile emerging on his face as he’s forced to return to an age of seeming innocence that was likely surrounded by chaos. “My mum and dad were both from the area, but they didn’t really speak about how bad they had it growing up because I think they were always trying to be as positive as they could for the kids. There was a pub called the Black Angus where we used to cause a bit of trouble outside and it was owned by [former footballer] Mickey Quinn’s dad. He’d chase us away all the time, but it was like that in a lot of areas because there wasn’t much for kids like us to do.”

One refuge for the directionless waifs of “Canny Farm” was the Stockbridge Boxing Club. Uneasy on the eyes like the high-rise, pollution-stained flats that overshadowed it, the low-roofed establishment was not dissimilar to a public restroom, rather than a fighting palace of hope. The same gym where Tony Bellew had laid inaugural foundations for a promising career later dominated Fielding’s youth as the urge to steal cars or sell drugs — temptations sampled by his region’s peers — was replaced by something more worthwhile to focus on.

“It was a lot to do with the bigger picture why I didn’t go down a route that could’ve got me in a lot of trouble,” Fielding says. “With boxing, I always knew from an early age that it was something that could provide me with some sort of purpose because there wasn’t a lot to take inspiration from growing up around here. Lads who were in the gym with me chose a different way and that’s their choice, but when you see what we had growing up then you understand why that life might appeal to people at that age. Although there wasn’t a lot to do, it taught me an awful lot about life, and myself, but when I think back, I was too young to see anything that was wrong with the place.”

Another potentially debilitating obstacle on Fielding’s horizon, and again one that the WBA super middleweight titleholder fails to find many faults with, is Canelo Alvarez, and on Dec. 15, the man from a Liverpool council estate will defend his recently-acquired strap against one of the finest boxers in the sport. Youngsters from Rocky’s parish rarely cross the River Mersey to New Brighton, but 10 days before Christmas, Fielding will perform his ring walk, traditionally accompanied by “Sweet Caroline,” in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden as he looks to cause a monumental upset against the Mexican icon. The odyssey to this coveted destination, in both boxing and life, has been testing throughout.

It was Prizefighter that first catapulted Fielding into the consciousness of the wider boxing community, as the eight-man tournament, devised by Matchroom Boxing head Barry Hearn in 2008, allowed Fielding’s profile to soar to a grander platform following one night’s work. Beforehand, Fielding would prepare for battle in cramped dressing rooms before trudging past squash and badminton courts to perform in front of audiences scraping into three figures.

“Prizefighter changed my life in so many ways, and I was dying to go into it despite me being the least experienced,” he says.

In a field that featured former world champion Robin Reid, Fielding blazed his way to the star role, and with the trophy came a check for £32,000 (roughly $40,000).

“I sometimes think to myself how long I would’ve stayed in the sports centers for if I didn’t enter that tournament, because nothing was happening for me and I had to put my faith in just hoping that something would one day turn up for me and I could show people what I was capable of,” Fielding says.

Domestic and minor titles slithered around Fielding’s slim waist soon after his Prizefighter triumph in 2011, and barring a brutal shellacking at the fists of city rival, and now division ruler, Callum Smith, Fielding knows only great times. The product of a stony heap that would make Pruitt Igoe and Cabrini Green scream “Oh s—,” Fielding is on his way to an altogether different type of concrete jungle as the city that never sleeps awaits a man who has always dreamed.

Back in the days when Fielding chased amateur success, clinging to his beliefs each night like a toddler cozying up to his or her most cherished teddy bear, Fielding saw his hopes realized and dashed in equal measure. Decently decorated, but missing the gongs that make promoters sit up and nod in approval, Fielding’s maiden pro deal essentially represented an audition that came with no guarantees. His Prizefighter celebration alerted the men who matter and it was a Liverpool icon, a distant relative of Fielding, who provided guidance concerning his next move.

“Steven Gerrard wanted to speak to me, so I went to see him and we had a sit down over my future,” Fielding remembers. “He’s someone who had pretty much been in the public eye his whole life, and now that I was going to be in bigger fights earning better money, he took it upon himself to give me a talking to about what I should do next. He told me to move out of my area so I wouldn’t have any distractions or get dragged into bad stuff, and he reminded me to always try and stay grounded and just be myself. The Prizefighter win did change my life in one night, and the advice I was given was something I took on straight away.”

If a low five-figure sum was seen to launch Fielding’s life into another orbit, then who knows what his wages for his showdown with Alvarez will do for Rocky and his family. Even after Fielding won the WBA title against Germany’s Tyron Zeuge back in July, most within boxing’s tight-knit community were in consensus that such a win was the fighter’s pinnacle, considering his rudimentary beginnings in the sport. Perhaps the chance to even the score with Smith was desirable, or an all-British showdown with a lucrative, household name such as George Groves, James DeGale or Chris Eubank Jr. The aforementioned targets appeared within reach for Fielding, but a battle with Golden Boy’s flame-haired superstar was entering the realms of fantasy and delusion.

“It’s sunk in now, but it took me getting in the gym and working on a plan to finally make that happen,” Fielding admits. “Jamie [Moore, Fielding’s trainer] phoned me and told me about it, and after finally being convinced that it wasn’t a wind-up or one of Jamie’s silly jokes, I just accepted it without hesitation. It’s only when I put the phone down that I realized I hadn’t asked questions about when it was, where it was or how much money I was being paid. When you’re offered a fight of that size against someone that good then you don’t even have to think about it.”

In Alvarez, Fielding will be opposing one of the finest fighters in the sport; a champion riding a marauding wave of momentum following his September win over long-time nemesis Gennady Golovkin. With the Mexican star positioned to be the face of sports streaming service DAZN, one perhaps expected Alvarez to pursue one of Matchroom’s world-class middleweights in either Daniel Jacobs or Demetrius Andrade. Instead, he tilted his head back and gazed north as the opportunity to claim world champion status in a third weight division held the most appeal. Fielding, a major underdog ahead of the contest despite holding physical advantages, has relentlessly viewed his imminent opponent as he seeks weaknesses that some of boxing’s best technicians haven’t been able to exploit.

“I watched the ‘Beefy’ [Liam Smith] fight again recently and thought he had a lot of success. He got close to him and was able to get his shots off. That showed me that he can be hit,” Fielding said of Alvarez’s September 2016 KO win over Smith. “It’s hard preparing for him because there are a few ways that he comes out and we’ve seen that in the past. The two Golovkin fights are where you can see the differences in him. In the first one, he tried to win it on the back foot by countering, but he was more aggressive in the rematch. So, there are a few different ways he will try and win the fight. I’ve just got to make sure that I’m prepared for whatever he wants to bring and with Jamie in my corner, I believe we can get the right plan together.”

Fielding has faced bigger tests than Alvarez. Maybe not in a boxing sense, but emerging from a hell that deterred plenty before him, and many since, his assignment against one of the sport’s most ruthless performers should be approached like every task that has gone before Dec. 15. In a scrap where no one is giving him a chance, Fielding may have to revert to the only way he knows, and that is just taking his chance and praying for the best, because remember, this is a fighter who hasn’t been handed anything. Why should it change now?

Re: Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

Be interesting to see how dazn handle the production of this, so far their boxing hasn't had any studio stuff, the world series of boxing events(or whfaatevwr they are called) have had some cool buildup on fight night but Canelo the big dazn signing, part of what made me look forward to Canelo fights on ppv was hbos production on fight night.

Re: Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

The largest contract in sports for an athlete is not held by a baseball player, a football player or a soccer star.

Instead, boxing’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez sets the pace for athlete sports contracts, having signed a 5-year, $365 million deal with DAZN in October. DAZN is a global live-sports streaming service owned by DAZN Group, also the parent company for Sporting News.

At 28, Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) is coming off a majority-decision win over Gennady “GGG” Golovkin in September to become the WBC, WBA, Lineal and Ring Magazine middleweight champion. Alvarez will now move up a weight class (168 pounds) to fight Rocky Fielding for the WBA super middleweight crown on Dec. 15, 2018.

Let’s take a look at how Alvarez has accumulated his fortune and where he stands among the wealthiest athletes (and celebrities) in the world.

According to Forbes’ World’s Highest Paid Athletes series, Alvarez earned $42 million for his two bouts in 2017 with the help of each match generating over one million pay-per-view purchases. Estimates concerning his overall take in the September 2018 bout with Golovkin were as high as $50 million.

In the 11-fight agreement with DAZN, Alvarez will average over $33 million per fight just to show up. Before signing with DAZN, Alvarez was under his second fight contract with HBO with a five-fight hiatus to Showtime in between.

Alvarez declared himself ready to live up to the DAZN deal.

“I’ve always liked a challenge, and this is yet another challenger in my career,” Alvarez said. “Being part of this historic deal will require me to prepare myself even more and offer fans even better performances. At the same time, I am humbled to be selected to lead this new vision for the sport of boxing, which will without a doubt be for the benefit of the fans.”

As one might expect, Alvarez’s popularity lends itself to lucrative endorsement deals on top of the sizable purse earnings.

Alvarez has been endorsed by Under Armour since May 2012, with the sportswear giant housing branded Alvarez gear and the boxer wearing the company’s attire during training and bouts. At the time of the agreement, Alvarez stressed how Under Armour would aid his performance and push other Mexican athletes.

“Everyday I focus on getting better and Under Armour is the perfect partner to help me improve my training and performances,” explained Alvarez. "I look forward to the advantages Under Armour products will provide and working with the brand to help motivate athletes in Mexico, and across the world, to reach their full potential.”

Alvarez’s Mexican heritage made him a perfect fit with Tecate (a beer producer), which was enabled by his promotor Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

Alvarez also partnered with cognac purveyor Hennessy in September 2017, working under its mantra “Never Stop. Never settle.”

Finally, Alvarez and Everlast connected in 2014, as he agreed to wear only Everlast gloves and train with the company’s equipment. Everlast completed a full build-out of Alvarez’s gym and the boxer is one of the company’s faces in consumer and retail marketing initiatives.

Alvarez, like many professional athletes, takes significant advantage of his social media presence. With over 4 million followers on Instagram, 2.97 million followers on Facebook and 1.31 million followers on Twitter, Alvarez’s reach is quite large. Alvarez’s posts frequently promote his endorsements and, of course, upcoming bouts.

Alvarez has made sure to give back to his community since turning pro.

Alvarez, then 20-years-old, donated time in Veracruz providing motivational speaking to youngsters in the region. Alvarez also played a part in building a youth institute after which he was honored by the city.

"I am delighted to be back in Veracruz, and I'm happier for coming to support projects of the Youth Institute, because I am part of young people who in the future want to do something for Mexico,” Alvarez said, according to BoxingScene.com.

Alvarez donated $1 million worth of supplies, medicine and construction materials and assisted volunteers in his hometown of Guadalajara after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit central and southern Mexico back in September 2017, ESPN reported.

Alvarez’s total estimated earnings as of June 5, 2018 of $44.5 million ranked him 15th in Forbes’ report with fellow boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., who counts as the only blemish on Alvarez’s record, at the top of the list at $285 million. Alvarez was ranked second in the group of boxers and 62nd in Forbes celebrity rankings. This is certainly bound to change in Forbes’ next renditions, with Alvarez’s new contract boosting his earning power and fortune.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Alvarez’s estimated net worth is $100 million. As Alvarez is still a young man, his potential to monumentally build his fortune knows no bounds.

Re: Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

Never wanted an upset more but sadly it's a showcase that is already overlooked with Oscar babbling about his next open fight date. Actually some good names in action this card but majority matched pretty safe. Why is it DAZN cannot advertise accurate start times??

Re: Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

Late last year, finding himself alongside boxing legend Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez at an event in Belfast, British fighter Rocky Fielding took the opportunity to grab a selfie with the Mexican great.
A few months later, while on holiday in Alvarez's homeland, Fielding was able to wow the locals with his snap of himself alongside their national hero.

One man was taken aback enough to offer Fielding his car for the day, allowing him to take his young son Ralphi to a water park.

Scroll forward a few more months and Fielding - brought up in one of Britain's most deprived areas - now fights 28-year-old Alvarez - the highest paid man in boxing with Floyd Mayweather having retired - at New York's Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.

It is a landmark night in the career of a 31-year-old who caught a double-decker bus home to Stockbridge Village in Merseyside with his handful of supporters after a debut fight at Salford Sports Centre eight years ago.

"I beat him and I wake up the king of New York on the Sunday, the next face of boxing," Fielding told BBC Sport. "I'm not sure I'll be able to go back to Mexico though."

Fielding has just gone through a light workout in front of BBC Sport in Manchester. The altitude chamber in which he is training simulates 2,700m, and his chest rises and falls dramatically as the sweat drips to the floor.

Fielding's mind is now firmly on boxing. Just three years ago he struggled to focus on his sport while supporting his mum through cancer. She told him about her illness just days after his first career loss, to fellow Liverpudlian Callum Smith.

"I knew something had been building up but she said she didn't want to distract me," Fielding reflects.

"My grandfather had cancer at the same time. He'd be in bed asking how my mum was and telling me 'when you're a world champion I want a villa in Spain'."

Granddad passed away, but mum came through and she was sitting in the Baden-Arena in Offenburg, Germany, when her son won a version of the WBA world super-middleweight title in July. Well, not quite when he won.

"She likes being there in the atmosphere with everyone but when I fight she leaves the arena," says Fielding.

"To be back in the changing rooms with her, a world title, my three brothers and having fulfilled a childhood dream, it was a great moment for us. I was getting changed after it and she's putting my socks on, getting my clothes, doing what mums do."

Three months later, Fielding was in bed while his partner fed their newborn daughter Romi. His trainer Jamie Moore phoned him.
Fielding explains: "Jamie said 'Canelo wants to fight you', so I said 'what?'

"I asked what weight and when he said my weight - super-middleweight - I said 'sound, let's do it'.

"Then I'm thinking, how am I going to go to sleep now? So the next thing I'm in bed watching Canelo versus Gennady Golovkin on my phone."

In fact, Moore had been holding back on the news for a few days, having resolved not to tell his fighter until the deal was done.

Much of the boxing world was as shocked as Fielding, with Alvarez moving up a weight division fresh from signing a £278m five-year fight deal to make him boxing's highest-paid athlete.

Tweets that Fielding could not understand flooded in from Mexico, television channels suddenly wanted interviews by the bucket load and for the first time his next-door neighbour on the estate he had recently moved to began asking who he was.

A global media tour even saw him ring the bell to open the New York Stock Exchange for business, following in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates and Mickey Mouse among others.

"I looked at the itinerary for the media week and the Wednesday said 'ring bell' and something else. I didn't have a clue what it was," admits Fielding.

"I walked into the Stock Exchange, I get a posh breakfast, there are pictures of me everywhere and I'm thinking 'oh my God'. My mates were texting saying 'I can't believe you did that, have you seen who has done that in the past?'

"Once the fight was announced, I knew what would come. Everyone now is on to me, talking about the fight, even some of the old women by my place. It will be the biggest win by any fighter in a long time."

Alvarez - one of seven brothers to fight professionally - is 1-20 with bookmakers. Should Fielding upset the two-weight world champion, the result would register in parts of the world a long way from Stockbridge Village - formerly known as Cantril Farm.

The area where Fielding played four football matches each weekend as a child sits in the borough of Knowsley, one of the most deprived areas in the UK according to government statistics released in 2015.

Fielding acknowledges it "wasn't the best of areas" but is proud of his childhood neighbourhood. 'Rocky from Stocky' has become something of a cult figure in Liverpool and when he moved to the outskirts of the city he became so waylaid by selfie requests from fans on simple trips to the supermarket that it took an age to buy a loaf of bread.

He says if he coached kids in the area now, the fighter he would tell them to watch is Alvarez, although true to his roots his own heroes were local.

Former British champion Tony Willis, and Peter Culshaw - a Commonwealth flyweight champion who won WBU and WBF world belts - inspired the young Fielding at Stockbridge Boxing Club, so much so he would miss morning school to watch them work out.

"When I'd be in the gym Peter was going to Tenerife to train so I was like wow, he's going abroad for a training camp," Fielding recalls.
"As the years went on I got in the ring with him for a move around and he caught me with a body shot. He boxed at eight stone, I was about 14 stone and I've never felt pain like it.

"I'd finish school on a Friday and go to watch fight shows in Liverpool, so I was around the changing rooms from a young age and thought 'I'd like this for me'. Then Peter won a world belt and brought it to my mum's house for me. I just thought 'I want this'."

Fielding took up boxing when his dad decided to get fit and visit the local boxing club. He enjoyed the buzz and has developed a knack for taking opportunities.

He entered a Prizefighter tournament at five days' notice in 2011 and won, while his last win saw him overcome the unbeaten German Tyron Zeuge at five weeks' notice to win the WBA 'regular' world super-middleweight title.

Alvarez still holds two world titles a weight division lower and represents a test unlike any the Briton has faced before.

But Fielding gives short shrift to those who write him off.

He says: "This is what I want to do in my life, I am putting everything into it, so how can people give me stick? I've had a few horrible messages on social media. How can you say that? I have been in this game since I was nine. I've had a lot of setbacks, ups and downs.

"People are saying I am selling my belt or I've lost before I fight. No, I am not selling anything - I accepted the fight before knowing the money.

"I also have my family, my boy and my newborn girl, so these things are for them, these are the reasons I miss the nursery runs, the weekend outings as a family, the night feeds.

"I turned professional with no promoter. My first fight was in a sport centre with 500 people. I got on the double-decker bus home with most of them. To now fight in Madison Square Garden as a world champion is unbelievable.

"I know how elite he is, I know how tough it will be, but beat him and I'm the next big thing in boxing."

Re: Saul Canelo vs Rocky Fielding

What’s it like to face Canelo? Past opponents talk about the experience

Rocky Fielding is facing a stern examination on Dec. 15, when he stands across the ring from Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and aims to do what only one man before him has managed, and that’s defeat the Mexican icon.

A wealth of talented operators including champions, prospects, undefeated stars, and sporting royalty, have attempted to combat Canelo’s size and accuracy, but with the exception of Floyd Mayweather Jr., and to a certain extent, Gennady Golovkin, they’ve all failed to out-fight the contemporary face of boxing.

One man who produced a spirited effort is Fielding’s former amateur club teammate, Liam Smith, who lost via a sickening stoppage in September 2016. Speaking to Sporting News the week before Alvarez’s rematch with Golovkin earlier this year, Smith had this to say:

“His variety is hard to live with. You have to be prepared for attacks from all angles because he throws every shot in the book and he throws them all with spite, too. His jab is good, his uppercut is good, he tries to make you miss and come back with counters. I know he had a lot of variety before I fought him because he was someone I had watched as a fan before it became a possibility he could become an opponent and it’s that variety that’s his biggest strength.”

With Alvarez emphatically taking Smith’s WBO belt at 154 pounds, another champion he managed to dethrone was New Mexico’s Austin Trout when he took his WBA super-lightweight title in 2013. Trout managed some success against Alvarez, but he lost on all three judges’ scorecards.

Speaking to Fighthype.com three years later, Trout was respectable about what he encountered in Canelo.

“He’s smart, he has good boxing savvy and he has explosive speed and power,” Trout said. “He makes his adjustments, but he’s a good fighter and I can’t take nothing from him. He’s exciting for the sport.”

With Alvarez now occupying the most coveted spots in boxing courtesy of his record breaking deal with streaming giant, DAZN, it’s increasingly difficult to cast thoughts back just a few years ago when he was an undercard attraction still fighting his way to the top of a brutal business.

As a supporting act to Floyd Mayweather’s tricky outing against Miguel Cotto, Alvarez dominated a faded Shane Mosley, once a pound-for-pound superstar himself, over 12 rounds. The native of Southern California would go on to enjoy numerous gym sessions with his conqueror and he has spoken candidly about Alvarez’s strengths.

“Canelo is really good,” Mosley told Fighthype earlier this year. “He’s got a good defense, he has got good movement. When he lost to Floyd, he was really young and even when he fought me he was only 20-years-old. He’s kind of like Fernando [Vargas] having these type of fights really early, but Floyd is not a puncher the way [Felix] Trinidad was, so he learned from that fight and he got better, which is good.”

Canelo’s only setback, which occurred in September 2015, came at the hands of Mayweather who was too experienced and skilled for the brief attacks that Alvarez launched towards him. The second fight of a monumental deal with Showtime, Canelo’s size and youth were seen as ideal attributes to trouble an aging Mayweather, but the Michigan born stylist, a great of the game, knew too much in every area to even be troubled by the man who would carry the sport once Floyd retired. With occasional talk of a rematch sometimes mentioned within the fight community, the rivalry is not dead yet, but Floyd has been both complimentary and insulting when discussing his past victim.

In the immediate aftermath of his fight with Alvarez, Mayweather took to the podium inside the MGM Grand and delivered a grand appraisal.

“First of all, I want to commend this young, strong champion,” said “Money” as he looked down to his left at a visibly distressed Alvarez, who had just endured the first defeat of his professional life. “He will carry the torch. Tonight, I want to say that experience played a major key. Canelo has everything that it takes to go on and be a legend in this sport, but tonight was just my night. Canelo is a thinker, I’m thinker, this was chess.”

Initial pleasantries would eventually turn to scorn, though, as Canelo became boxing’s biggest draw following the retirement of Mayweather. When the multi-weight champion returned to face UFC star, Connor McGregor, weeks before Alvarez shared the spotlight with Golovkin, mild digs were handed out by each camp as they both vied for those all important PPV numbers.

This past Oct. 18, out of nowhere, Mayweather went to his Instagram account to unleash a further attack on Alvarez with a “Throwback Thursday” hashtag underneath a photograph of Floyd landing a right uppercut on Canelo.

“It didn’t matter if Canelo ate his PED steak or not this night, this was by far the easiest night of my career,” Mayweather wrote. “Connor McQuiter was a way better fighter than Canelo’s cheating ass and I beat the brakes off him too. It takes me 36 mins or less to make $300 million plus. It literally takes me one night and one fight to make what you might make in five years and 11 fights. So really, who’s still winning? You do the math.”

With Floyd consistently showing fighters respect and disdain in equal measures ever since his glorious reign at super-featherweight, one must decide if his most recent outburst concerning Alvarez is his true opinion or his way of staying relevant in a sport that is trying to reinvent itself since he walked out the door last summer.

One fighter who has never been in the business of badmouthing his foes is Alfonso Gomez. Mexican like Canelo, Gomez took on his countryman in September 2011 on the same show where Mayweather knocked out a defenseless Victor Ortiz. Gomez performed admirably during the fight’s early going despite suffering a first-round flooring, but after receiving sustained punishment in the sixth session, the bout was called off, albeit slightly premature, by third man, Wayne Hedgpeth.

Gomez reflected on the fight when speaking to EsNewsReporting.com in 2012: “I would’ve adjusted some things that I was doing wrong as now I see that he was hunting me and waiting for an opportunity that did come. I was winning rounds and proving a point that maybe he wasn’t ready or that I’m not that bad, one or the other. I stepped into the ring and he wobbled me a bit and they stopped it. He hits pretty hard, decent fighter and he’s very good. It didn’t happen for me that night so I just got to keep moving forward.”

With professional opinions of Alavrez ranging from mediocre to excellent, depending what version of Mayweather to believe, the most damning assessment of the man aiming to become a three weight belt-holder on Saturday night comes from Kermit Cintron.

In 2011, the hardened Puerto Rican was extinguished in five rounds by Alvarez, but when speaking to Boxingscene in April this year, Cintron’s evaluation of the man who wiped out appeared slightly far-fetched.

“I honestly didn’t think too much of him when I fought him,” Cintron said. “He was a lot faster than I expected, but wasn’t as strong as people make him out to be. I rate Sergio Martinez over him skill-wise.”

The consensus from former foes of Canelo is that he is very much the world class fighter that has adorned high-class promotions for a number of years now. Fielding does not need to search far within the fight game to understand the man he’s facing at Madison Square Garden in just a few days, and once all has settled down in the showdown’s aftermath, the ambitious Englander will be another contributor to the varied war stories that star Alvarez.